System and method for responding to information requests from users of personal communication devices

ABSTRACT

There are provided methods and systems for responding to information requests from users of personal communication devices, such as mobile telephones and more particularly cellular telephones. In one embodiment, information requests issued from a plurality of user&#39;s cellular telephones are received and processed at a central host site. Processing comprises parsing the user requests to determine the content and category type of the request and retrieving relevant content configured as a sequence of images (frames), referred to as a “video strip”. When a user plays back a video strip on his or her personal communication device, the sequence of images appear on the user&#39;s display as a sequence of still images, played back at a slow rate, unlike conventional movie playback frame rates. When viewing a video strip, a viewer may stop, start, and pause the video strip. Pausing playback of a video strip enables the user to easily peruse the contents of each video strip frame.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the dissemination ofinformation, and more particularly to a system and method for respondingto information requests from users of personal communication devices.

2. Description of the Related Art

The modern cell phone is used for much more than voice communications.Millions of people around the world use cell phones as a means to talkwith one another and to provide access to various sources ofinformation. With a cellular telephone, users are able to use anincredible array of features and functions such as storing contactinformation, making to-do task lists, sending or receiving text, voicemessages, graphical images, photographic images, recorded sounds, andeven streaming media. Some cellular phones are also capable of receivingemail messages forwarded from an email service, such that a user maycheck his or her email via the mobile phone.

Telecommunication concerns foresee a future wherein cellular servicesinclude handheld entertainment and data services as well as basiccommunications. Each facet has multiple business models; at leasttheoretically. Marketing professionals and advertisers see the mobilephone as the ultimate delivery vehicle for targeted advertising.

Despite its great potential, the wireless industry has been cautiousabout how to exploit the cellular phone. The highly personal andever-present nature of the cell phone increases the potential toalienate customers with invasion of privacy concerns and unsolicitedcontent. Although a wireless service provider may not be responsible forundesirable acts by marketers and third party product vendors, they arelikely to take the brunt of the blame by their customers for anyintrusions. Accordingly, carriers have placed prudent constraints onthose who would undermine the carrier's relationships with theircustomers, intentionally or otherwise. In light of this sensitivity, themarket has responded with ideas that do not violate the boundaries setby the carriers.

The wireless community, with its focus on minutes of use and dataservices, has made a substantial investment in network and handsetdevelopments that emphasize user-generated content, gaming, andcustomizations such as ring tones and video entertainment. SMS textmessaging and MMS features for image and video capture now complimenttraditional voice communications features on most new phones. Networksupport for cell phone internet services continues to evolve rapidly.

Marketing and advertising concepts are substantially less advanced whenit comes to the mobile phone. For all of its obvious potential forintimate connection with the consumer, the potential to create acustomer-adversary has never been greater. To mitigate the likelihood ofadverse consumer reaction, mobile phone marketing methods are, by andlarge, opt-in schemes. The consumer must sign up to receive ads and, inmost cases, they must be willing to download software onto their phone.

Voice and SMS services are the only proven mobile phone revenue modelsto date. A need, therefore, exists for a cell phone business paradigmthat takes advantage of advanced handset features and the inherentpersonal relationship with the consumer, while avoiding the pitfalls ofintrusion.

Most cell phones sold in the U.S. this year, over 100 million of them,will be photo and video capable. However, the majority of owners willuse voice and SMS text capability exclusively. Despite consumers' desireto use advanced features, such as posting and printing pictures,watching mobile TV, and utilizing email and Internet services, mostconsumers do not know how to use anything other than the voice featureand, in rapidly increasing numbers, the text messaging features of theirphones. Of those who use the camera feature already on their phones, thevast majority do not send the pictures from their phone to another phoneor posting site. Cell phone pictures are typically shared face to faceon the phone just as if they were on photo paper. This seems to be trueeven when the cost of sending is eliminated as a factor.

Likewise, an exceedingly small percentage of users will use the lowresolution video feature to view video segments or make their own shortvideos and almost none will send them from the phone.

A similarly small number will pay to watch video clips or television ontheir phones. With the ubiquity of large-screen, flat panel TV's inevery niche of our society, paying a sizable cost for clips to watch ona cell phone with limited battery life and poor visual quality isunlikely to become a national or global obsession within the bounds ofcurrent technology. Yet, without a significant market willing to buy TVand Internet data services for their cell phones, direct mobilemarketing opportunities are limited. It is doubtful that a large numberof consumers will choose to opt-in to advertising services just for thesake of receiving ads. If they did, it would run counter to theexperiences of every other medium. Furthermore, “mobile life”experiments around the world have shown that there is presently nosubstantial demand to shop from one's cell phone or use the phone as amobile equivalent to a laptop computer or television set.

There has, however, been behavioral evidence that certain types ofinformation are readily consumed by the mobile user when the barriers toobtaining the information are low. Maps, weather, headlines and sportsscores are among such items. But, after more than a decade ofsponsor-supported free Internet computer content with no technicalbarriers to use, large numbers of consumers are unwilling to tackle thecost and technical obstacles associated with getting this type ofinformation on their cell phones. Monthly subscriptions with multiplewidget providers, wireless access protocol (WAP) sites with clumsy anddifficult navigation, software downloads, slow transmission speeds,non-standard operating systems, and techno-phobia creates a challengingmobile environment.

The present invention overcomes the aforementioned financial, proceduraland technical obstacles to allow mobile users to receive information ina manner that is attractive and readily accessible to the mobile user,advertisers and the wireless carrier communities.

SUMMARY

The present invention addresses these and other problems in the priorart by providing methods and systems that respond to informationrequests from users of personal communication devices, such as mobiletelephones and more particularly cellular telephones.

In one embodiment, information requests issued from a plurality ofuser's cellular telephones are received and processed at a central hostsite. Processing comprises parsing the user requests to determine thecontent and category type of the request and retrieving relevant contentconfigured as a sequence of images (frames), collectively referred toherein as a “video strip”. When a user plays back a video strip on hisor her personal communication device, the sequence of images appear onthe user's display as a sequence of still images, where each image isdisplayed for approximately two seconds. However, each apparent stillimage is actually comprised of a sequence of underlying real imageframes rendered within the context of a video or similar continuousformat, such as 3gp or Flash™ having an actual frame rate on the orderof twelve frames per second. The display frame rate of the apparentstill images, which is on the order of one frame every two seconds, isnovel in that it is unlike conventional movie playback frame rates whichare typically on the order of 15-30 frames per second.

A further novel feature associated with “video strips” is that theconstituent images (frames) are disjoint. In other words, theconstituent images of a video strip are more analogous to a slide show,keyed to the user's particular information request, than to aconventional movie format comprised of a sequence of conjoint images.

As will become apparent, advantages of the invention include, but arenot limited to, ease of use by mobile users whereby a mobile user mayexpeditiously construct an information request using his or her personalcommunication device (e.g., cell phone) by either texting (e.g., SMS) toa predefined short code or phone number or otherwise emailing to apredefined email address (e.g., vs@gloto.com). The subject matter of theuser information request is simply an abbreviated command syntaxoptimized for quick entry on a cell phone or other personalcommunication device. For example, a user may expeditiously construct aninformation request for an extended weather forecast in a particular zipcode using a minimal number of keystrokes on his or her cell phone,i.e., “W 11525”. A central host site responds to each informationrequest by collecting relevant content in real-time and organizing thecontent as a video strip attachment to an MMS message or email.

By responding to information requests quickly and by constructing andtransmitting video strips back to requesting users in a format that iseasily and naturally viewed on the user's mobile device, it is believedthat consumers, having little time or interest in watching continuouscontent, such as TV or full-motion videos, will be more receptive tomaking information requests in the manner described herein. Another keyadvantage of using a video strip format for responding to userinformation requests is that the format is highly compressible, sincethe constituent images of the video strip are relatively static andrendered at such a low underlying frame rate (e.g., 12 frames/sec),which consequently contributes to a high transfer rate. As such, networkbandwidth is conserved.

Further advantages provided by the invention include, no login screens,no user accounts, no “system busy” logic, no downloadable software orspecialized hardware, a single display mode that uses an existingvideo-player in the cell phone, a single display format optimized forease of use, and a built-in ad supported monetization model that doesnot detract from the user experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from a consideration of the followingDetailed Description of the invention, when considered in conjunctionwith the drawing Figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention,

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b are more detailed block diagrams of the personalcommunication devices and central host site of FIG. 1, respectively, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process for responding to informationrequests from users of personal communication devices, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention,

FIGS. 4 a & 4 b illustrate the construction of an exemplary video strip,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the system of FIG. 1 for an exemplaryembodiment as described in FIG. 6,

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an exemplary process for responding to anexemplary request for weather information from a user of a personalcommunication device, and

FIGS. 7 a & 7 b illustrate the construction of an exemplary video strip,in response to a user request for weather information for a particularzip code.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As a general overview, the present invention is designed to overcome theobstacles to obtaining all manner of information on a personalcommunication device, such as a mobile device, and more particularly acell phone. To that end, the present invention provides, in thedescribed embodiments, a network-based information system and associatedmethod that responds to information requests from users of personalcommunication devices. As will become apparent, a key feature of thenetwork-based information system is the construction of “video strips”in real-time for transmission to users of personal communication devicesmaking information requests.

Generally, a video strip, is preferably constructed by and transmittedfrom a central host site, in real-time, and is comprised of a sequenceof images (frames), rendered within the context of a video or similarcontinuous format, such as Flash™. The video strips are intended to beplayed back to requesting users at a low playback rate, on the order of1 frame every 2 seconds. In some embodiments, the video strip may alsoinclude, in addition to a sequence of images, one or more staticinterstitial ads inserted among the sequence of images. In someembodiments, animated pre-roll and/or post-roll frames may also precedeand/or follow the content frames. In some embodiments, the video stripmay also include a “text crawl” feature, which can be inserted into thevideo strip to caption the content or as an additional source ofadvertising revenue.

The system is designed to accommodate users by not requiring sign upprocedures, specific mobile providers, special software downloads orhardware capabilities, or special services and mobile plans such asmobile Internet.

The application of the present invention is not limited to anyparticular “image” type in the construction of a “video strip”.Exemplary image types include photographic images, text images, scannedimages, etc. As used herein, the term remote indicates that the contentproviders are at locations separate from the central host site. TheCommunication Network 30 may be of a variety of forms, including, butnot limited to, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN),the Internet, etc. The communication network may employ hard-wired(e.g., Ethernet) or wireless (e.g. 802.11) connections.

System

Referring now to FIG. 1, one embodiment of an exemplary system forresponding to information requests from users of personal communicationdevices, such as mobile telephones, and more particularly cellulartelephones, will now be described.

Personal communication devices may include, for example, a CellularTelephone 12 used by a first Mobile User 10, a Personal DigitalAssistant (“PDA”) 16 that includes telephone capabilities used by asecond Mobile User 14, and a handheld or laptop Computer 20 thatincludes telephone and/or networking capabilities, used by a thirdMobile User 18, or any other similar client side, user system known inthe art. Personal Communication Devices 12, 16, and 20 are assumed to beequipped with at least a video capability for implementing the methodsof the invention. The Personal Communication Devices 12, 16 and 20 aremerely representative of typical platforms that can make informationrequests using the techniques described herein. That is, informationrequests may also be made in other portable phones, and in other handheld devices in general. It should be understood that any fixed ormobile device may be used that is capable of sending a text message oremail and receiving and viewing a video or other continuous digitalformat.

Users 10, 14 and 18 of respective Personal Communication Devices 12, 16and 20 make information requests (i.e., “message requests”) at randomintervals to Central Host Site 24 via the Communication Network 30,which may be any known or envisioned network.

Central Host Site 24 is configured to perform processing, supervisoryand management functions associated with the reception and processing ofinformation requests from Users 10, 14 and 18 of Personal CommunicationDevices 12, 16 and 20. A typical processing function performed by theCentral Host Site 24 is the creation of individualized “responses”, inthe form of “video strips”, in response to “requests” received from therespective Users 10, 14 and 18. The request/response protocol is on aone-to-one basis. That is, each request results in a single responsefrom Central Host Site 24. The elements of Central Host Site 24 aredescribed as follows with reference to FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, there is shown in detail, thosefunctions of a Personal Communication Device 12, 16 and 20 and of aCentral Host Site 24 that are relevant to the present invention.

Referring first to FIG. 2 a, a Personal Communication Device 12, 16 and20 includes four primary components, which are well known in the art.The four components include; a Text Messaging component 202 forsending/receiving/viewing SMS text messages; a Picture Messagingcomponent 204 for sending/receiving/viewing still images via email orMMS; a Video Messaging component 206 for sending/receiving/viewing shortvideo clips via email or MMS and a Voice Function 208 for handlingconventional phone calls. As discussed above, the present inventionadvantageously does not require a personal communication device toutilize special software downloads or special services, such as mobileInternet. Rather, it is contemplated to facilitate service usage byallowing any user with a video capable camera phone that has knowledgeof either: the Central Host Site 24 short code, phone number, instantmessage id, or email address to make information requests and receive aresponse in the form of a “video strip” from the Central Host Site 24.

The Central Host Site 24 is shown to be comprised of seven primarycomponents. They are described as follows.

A Website 212 of Central Host Site 24 is configured to provideinstructions and other promotional material associated with aninformation service. In the described embodiment, no user registrationis required with the website to participate in the information service,thereby facilitating user receptivity of the service. The Website 212 ispreferably decoupled from the process of constructing video strips inresponse to user requests. It should be appreciated that the Website 212is an optional feature that may enhance user participation in theinventive System 100. However, it should be understood that the Website212 is not a required element in the System 100. That is, the System 100is capable of receiving information requests and providing video stripsin response to those requests, with or without Website 212.

An Email Communications Manager 214 of Central Host Site 24 isconfigured to receive and process inbound email information requests forvideo strips and send outbound email responses including video strips.

An SMS/MMS Communications Manager 216 of Central Host Site 24 isconfigured to receive and process inbound SMS requests for video stripsand send outbound MMS responses including video strips.

An Instant Messaging Communications Manager 217 of Central Host Site 24is configured to receive and process inbound instant messaging requestsfor video strips and send outbound instant messaging responses includingvideo strips.

Generally, when the System 100 receives an inbound request from a User10, 14, 18, the request may be in the form of an email request, an SMSrequest or an IM request. A response is generally issued from theCentral Host Site 24 of System 100 using the same protocol as therequest. For example, an IM request received via an IM protocol ispreferably responded to by the Central Host Site 24 of System 100 usingthe same IM protocol. Similarly, an SMS request or email request ispreferably responded to by the Central Host Site 24 of System 100 usingan MMS response or email response, respectively.

As is well known in the communication arts, IM requests, SMS requestsand email requests do not require a priori user registration at areceiving system, in accordance with their respective communicationprotocols. Therefore, the receiving system can only respond to a requestbased on the information provided, i.e., cell phone # associated with anSMS request, an email address associated with an inbound email requestor an IM username with an IM request.

By way of example, for an IM request, the presently described System 100captures the requesting user's ID and input channel at the time of therequest. So, if a user, for example, sends an IM request via AOL IM, theonly means for responding to that user is via the username on the AOLservice. No other response option exists given that the System 100 hasno other information about the user unless it is can be derived by crossreferencing the user's unique input information (IM id, email address,cell phone number) to another database or source that exists outside ofSystem 100.

It should be understood that the Email Communications Manager 214,SMS/MMS Communications Manager 216, and Instant Messaging CommunicationsManager 217 are multi-threaded and implement queuing logic to handlemultiple simultaneous requests and responses from mobile users.

A Content Manager 218 of Central Host Site 24 is configured to retrieveand aggregate requested content from web-based information providers aswell as to retrieve targeted ads or sponsorships from advertisers. Theinformation providers may be partners or any suitable information sourcethat may exist on a network, such as the Internet. In some embodiments,third-party content providers provide advertisements and sponsorshipdata as well as requested user content because of pre-existing businessrelationships and infrastructure. In these situations, the ContentManager 218 will not need to interface to the advertisers directly.

A Presentation Manager 220 of Central Host Site 24 is configured to takethe content and advertisements generated by the Content Manager 218 andconstruct a video strip. In certain embodiments, the construction of avideo strip comprises combining the following elements—a pre-roll, apost-roll, a textual crawl, one or more interstitial ads, and the userrequested content. The Presentation Manager 220 is further configured toforward a constructed video strip to the Email Communications Manager214, SMS/MMS Communications Manager 216, or Instant MessagingCommunications Manager 217 for dissemination to a Mobile User Device 12,16 and 20.

The Interpretation Module 222 of Central Host Site 24 is responsible forparsing and interpreting all user requests, whether via the EmailCommunications Manager 214, the SMS/MMS Communications Manager 216, orthe Instant Messaging Communications Manager 217. Those user requeststhat are invalid or improperly formed result in a generic textual helpmessage or other informative message being sent to the requesting userusing the same communication channel that the request came in on.

General Operation

With reference now to FIG. 3, there is shown an exemplary process 300for responding to information requests from users of personalcommunication devices, such as those shown in FIG. 1, in accordance withan embodiment of the invention. In the described example, the Process300 is executed by a Central Host Site 24, such as the one illustratedin FIG. 1. A user, such as, for example, User 10, makes an informationrequest, via his or her Personal Communication Device 12 to the CentralHost Site 24 (Act-302). To make an information request, a User 10 maysend a text message, an instant message, or an email to a specific shortcode, telephone number, instant message account, or email address fromthe user's Personal Communication Device 12, 16, and 20.

In one embodiment, it is contemplated to include a command andassociated parameters, specifying the particular type of contentrequested, in the body of the user content request.

Table I below illustrates, by way of example, and not limitation, thesyntax of some representative user information requests for content,according to one embodiment. Of course, the syntax of user requests maybe different in different embodiments. For example, dedicated emailaddresses or short codes may be established for individual categories ofinformation requests to eliminate the need for a command prefix. As oneexample of an alternative command syntax that does not utilize a commandprefix, a request for weather data may be made by sending the following:<zipcode or city/state> to weather@gloto.com or directly to the weatherprovider such as w@weatherbug.com, as an alternative to sending “w<zipcode or city/state>” to vs@gloto.com, as described in Table I.

Given the generic nature of video strips and their applicability to allmanner of mobile information requests, it is very likely thatestablished third-party content providers will install the service ontheir central servers and brand it according to their desires. Forexample, Mapquest may elect to license the underlying video striptechnology for mobile mapping requests and market the service to theirusers consistent with their brand, e.g., “Get a map on your phone bysending the desired address to m@mapquest.com or short code 12345.” Forthose cases where the technology is licensed by a third-party (e.g.,Mapquest), it is envisioned that the System 100 will be hosted on athird-party host site, having some affiliation with the licensingentity.

It should be appreciated that it is only required that the entityreceiving the request, e.g., the Central Host Site 24, understand thecategory and type of content being requested.

TABLE I COMMAND COMMAND PARAMETERS DESCRIPTION S <Keywords> Perform animage search based on the provided keywords and return the first 10images associated with the keywords W <zipcode or Retrieve and extendedweather city/state> forecast for the zipcode & city/state M <zipcode orRetrieve a sequence of street maps at address> different range scalescentered on the entered zipcode or street address CB <cellblock name >Retrieve the last 10 images posted to the cellblock picture postingwebsite

In the presently described embodiment, a user can request informationfrom the Central Host Site 24 through standard communications channelsand services that the cell phone uses to communicate voice and data.Short Message Service (SMS), Long SMS (i.e., concatenated SMS), EnhancedMessage Service (EMS) and e-mail are examples of services though whichthe cell phone can make an information request. In general, thedescribed embodiment may use any data transmission package in anycommunications channel (and associated service) native to the sendingcell phone, to make an information request. Communications channels andservices that are “native to the sending cell phone” are those for whichthe cell phone is designed and manufactured to handle, and for which thecell phone has a sufficient level of service to use.

An information request is received at the Central Host Site 24, eitherby the Email Communications Manager 214, in the case where theinformation request is sent as an email request, or by the SMS/MMSCommunications Manager 216, in the case where the information request issent as an SMS request, or by the Instant Messaging CommunicationsManager 217 in the case where the information request is sent as aninstant message. (Act-304).

Depending upon the type of information request, either the EmailCommunications Manager 214 processes the request, in the case where theinformation request is sent as an email request. The SMS/MMSCommunications Manager 216 processes the request, in the case where theinformation request is sent as an SMS request, and the Instant MessagingCommunications Manager 217 processes the request, in the case where theinformation request is sent as an instant message. Processing a requestcomprises first determining that the request adheres to the basiccommand syntax presently in use by the System 100 (S-306). Basic errorchecking and syntax compliance is performed by the appropriatecommunications manager (i.e., 214, 216, or 217) of System 100 thatreceives the user request.

If a request is received that is improperly formatted or is otherwiseunintelligible, a text, email, or instant message is instantlytransmitted back to the sender notifying him or her that the requestcannot be properly processed by the system (S-308). The return textmessage preferably includes help information to assist the sender inconstructing a properly formatted request. Otherwise, if it isdetermined that the request is properly formatted, the request is parsedto determine the category and type of content being requested by theuser (Act-310).

Parsing is performed by the Interpretation Module 222 of the System 100.Upon determining the category and type of content being requested, theidentified content and category is supplied to the Content Manager 218of the System 100 to facilitate interaction with one or more remotecontent providers to obtain relevant content in satisfaction of therequest (Act-312). The content may also be obtained locally at theCentral Host Site 24 from one or more local databases, or a combinationof local and remote accesses, as is necessary.

Referring back again to FIG. 1, there is shown a plurality of userinterfaces for facilitating communication between the Central Host Site24 and the various content providers. The interfaces include, a 3^(rd)Party API Interface 122, a Parametric URL Interface 124, an RSS/XMLInterface 126, a Proprietary Binary Interface 128, and one or more otherInterfaces 130.

In some embodiments, third-party content providers will provideadvertisements and sponsorship data as well as requested user contentbecause of pre-existing business relationships and infrastructure. Inthese situations, the Content Manager 218 will not need to directlyinterface with the advertisers.

Upon collecting the information necessary to construct a video stripfrom one or more remote content providers at the Central Host Site 24,including content and optional advertising data, the PresentationManager 220 of System 100 constructs a video strip in a manner to bedescribed further below (Act-314).

Video strips are preferably generated in real-time in response to userrequests. In some embodiments, it is contemplated to pre-store certainresponses to user requests in anticipation of the requests. Pre-storingresponses may be appropriate, for example, for those requests havingresponses that are time-insensitive, such as those pertaining to popularqueries. In this manner, system performance and scalability may beenhanced.

Video Strip Structure

Referring now to FIG. 4 a, there is shown a general structure of a VideoStrip 400, according to one embodiment. The Video Strip 400 is comprisedessentially of a sequence of Video Strip Frames 402. For purposes of thepresent application, a video strip frame is an image displayed to a userof a personal communication device that illustrates content to the userfor a period of approximately 2 seconds. The preferred display periodcreates the impression of a still image. The video strip frames aresometimes referred to as core frames in that they display content deemedto be relevant to a user information request. Six such frames are shownby way of example in FIG. 4 a.

It should be understood that the Video Strip Frames 402, (i.e., coreframes) as shown in FIG. 4 a, are not actual video frames, as are wellknown in the video arts. Rather, the Video Strip Frames 402 are imagesdisplayed to a user at a slow playback rate (i.e., on the order of 2seconds per frame). The slow playback rate of the Video Strip Frames 402arise from a rendering of a constituent number of underlying actualvideo frames 405, rendered at a pre-determined frame rate (e.g., on theorder of 12 frames/sec), as shown in FIG. 4 b. The process of renderinga video strip (i.e., the video strip frames that comprise a video strip)is described as follows.

Rendering a Video Strip

Generally, a Video Strip 400 is rendered within the context of a videoor similar continuous format, such as Flash™. In addition to the corecontent oriented frames, referred to herein as Video Strip Frames 402,the video strip may also optionally include a Pre-Roll Animation Frame406 and a Post-Roll Animation Frame 408 to show continuous motion datasuch as an introductory or concluding message or sponsorship.

FIG. 4 b illustrates the construction and display rate of the firstvideo strip frame, i.e., video strip frame 1 (402) of the Video Strip400 of FIG. 4 a. As shown in FIG. 4 b, video strip frame 1 (402) iscomprised of 24 actual video frames 405, rendered at an underlying framerate of 12 frames per second. Because each actual Video Frame 405 isvirtually identical to its neighboring frame, upon playback of the VideoStrip 400, an impression is created in the viewer's mind that the VideoStrip Frames 402 of the Video Strip 400 are being played back at a framerate on the order of 1 frame approximately every 2 seconds. In otherembodiments, it is contemplated to display the Video Strip Frames 402 atrates as low as 1 frame/sec and as high as 3 frames/sec. Thus, theastute reader will recognize that a video strip playback rate on theorder of 1 frame approximately every 2 seconds is analogous to theplayback of a sequence of still images being displayed at a low framerate. What is transparent to the user (viewer) is that the underlying(actual) frame rate of the Video Strip 400 is on the order of 12 framesper second, as described above. Of course, in some embodiments, theunderlying frame rate can be lower or higher than 12 frames per secondin conformance with the rendering format in use.

Generally, the underlying (actual) rendering frame rate of a video stripis at least 10 frames per second, and preferably 12 frames per secondfor a 3gp video format to permit the rendering of continuous pre-rolland post-roll animation frames and the text crawl while minimizing filesize and preserving transmission bandwidth.

Video Strip Construction

In operation, image files (.jpg, .png, .gif, etc.) are returned from asearch engine query and resized to fit the form factor of a Video Strip400. However, it is also contemplated to construct a Video Strip Frame402 from disparate textual data or a combination of smaller iconographicdata in common digital formats (.jpg, .png, .gif, etc.) and textualdata. One example of this latter approach is the construction of aweather video strip. For these video strip types, a Video Strip Frame402 is constructed from both raw textual data and a separate icon imagereturned in an XML document. Thus, the Video Strip Frame 402 representsa composite image from two disparate sources.

Video Strip Optional Features

Continuing with FIG. 4, the Video Strip 400 is shown to further comprisean optional “Text Crawl” 404 feature, which is a moving messagepositioned along either the top or bottom of the frame sequence. FIG. 4shows the Text Crawl 404 along the bottom of the frame sequence. In someembodiments, the text crawl may be placed along the top of the VideoStrip 400 to enhance readability of the presented text. Typically theText Crawl 404 is related to the user request and may, for example,display a user provided command string, e.g., M 1600 Pennsylvania AveWash D.C., to remind the user of the associated request. More typically,the text crawl may display sponsorship information or other advertisingrelated data associated with the type and syntax of a user request. Forinstance, a map request for the area code 21797 may result in the textcrawl “M 21797—Maps courtesy of Mapquest.”

The Video Strip 400 may further optionally comprise one or more“Pre-Roll” Animation Frames 406. A Pre-Roll Animation Frame 406 is shownin FIG. 4 a. The Pre-Roll Animation Frame 406 is constrained to displaya short introductory message as a continuous motion video, typically,but not exclusively, associated with sponsorship or advertisement.

As a further optional feature, the Video Strip 400 may further comprisea single “post-roll” animation frame 408, which is a short concludingcontinuous motion video, which is typically, but not exclusively,associated with sponsorship or advertisement.

It should be noted that the pre-roll 406 and post-roll 408 animationframes appear to the viewer as continuous motion videos in contrast withthe Video Strip Frames 402 which appear to the viewer as still images.

Upon completing the construction of a Video Strip 400 at the CentralHost Site 24, it is transmitted back to the user making the informationrequest to be either played back or stored on the requesting user'spersonal communication device (Act-316).

Retrieving Content Relevant to User Requests

Upon receiving a user request, the Content Manager 218 of System 100performs a plurality of queries using interfaces and protocols that maybe unique (and proprietary) to each content provider. Some queries, forexample, may result in a search through a local database whereas otherqueries may require network access to other third-party contentproviders and websites. Advertising or couponing queries, describedbelow, based on the demographic or geographical location of the user atthe time of the request may also be performed to generate appropriatelytargeted advertising material for use in the video strip. For example,the results of an advertising or couponing query may be incorporatedinto one or more of the pre-roll, post-roll and interstitial ads, whichcomprise a part of the video strip (see FIG. 4).

The images to be used for the Video Strip Frames 402 are retrieved frominternal sources, external sources and combinations thereof insatisfaction of a user information request. The images to beincorporated into the constituent Video Strip Frames 402 are selected soas to increase the likelihood that the first few video strip frameimages of a Video Strip 400 confidently satisfy the user's informationrequest. For instance, as is well known, most image search results onthe Internet (e.g., Google™ searches) are organized such that the mostcommonly requested or relevant images are placed at the top of theresults page. In a similar manner, the most relevant image searchresults are placed at the front of the Video Strip 400 (i.e., videostrip frames 1 and 2). In certain embodiments, it is contemplated tointerlace results from multiple third-party content providers to providemore compelling or inclusive results for the user. It is noted that avideo strip frame image may also comprise static text represented asimage data (e.g., text based weather information).

Readability of a Video Strip on a Personal Communication Device

The System 100 employs methods and algorithms to maximize thereadability and desirability of the video strip content on small screendevices, such as those illustrated in FIG. 1. For instance, an imagesearch may require access to several local and/or remote databases toretrieve raw results which are then aggregated and formatted in such away as to make the information suitable and more effective on a smallscreen. In a similar manner, requests for mapping data are optimized forcertain use cases and may display zoom levels, directions, or centerpositions not associated with a standard web query on a computer. Userexperience factors are also considered during the creation of a videostrip including, but not limited to, formatting, font size, backgroundand foreground color, and resolution.

It is a general objective of the invention to maximize readability of avideo strip on a user device while simultaneously minimizing file size.The tradeoff of readability versus size becomes an issue whentransmitting map data or other highly detailed images. Maps typicallyrequire higher resolution images since they often have small streetnames on the image rendered at odd angles. When transmitting map data,it is contemplated to use different bit rates and video compressionfactors in the encoder when constructing the video strip to minimize thefile size while preserving readability. This is necessary in that mapdata does not compress as well as standard images.

Construction of a Video Strip

The physical construction of the video strip into a mobile video orother continuous format such as Flash™ requires the use of one or morepipelined software processes on the system's servers. All of the digitalmaterial comprising the video strip (pre-roll, post-roll, interstitialads, frame content, and text crawl) is rendered through a multi-phaseprocess into a single continuous movie encoded in a particular formatsuch as, for example, 3g2 or 3gp. Other well known or envisioned formatsare contemplated by the invention.

Generally, the number of Video Strip Frames 402 in a Video Strip 400 isnot predetermined but may vary based on a number of factors including,but not limited to, the type of information request, the time of therequest, the availability of suitable data to satisfy the request, andadvertising considerations.

Heuristics and other algorithms are employed to optimize the resultantVideo Strip 400 for distribution over potentially bandwidth-constrainedwireless resources. This optimization may take into account many factorsincluding, but not limited to, screen resolution, request type, videostrip transmission size, current bandwidth capacity and demand, time ofday, and overall length of the video.

In some embodiments, it is contemplated to send a fewer number of VideoStrip Frames 402 per Video Strip 400 at times of peak usage, to satisfya greater number of users.

Monetization of the Process

One potential source of revenue which may be derived from themonetization of the invention relates to a couponing or points system toencourage the user community to make information requests for videostrips from their personal communication devices.

In a couponing system, a packaged goods manufacturer would associate adiscount for an item to the user's mobile phone number that made arequest for a video strip. For example, John Smith, calling from mobilephone number 514-336-9872 makes an information request for designerjeans. Levis or some other participating jeans manufacturer, associatesa discount for designer jeans to John Smith's mobile phone number, i.e.,514-336-9872. Alternatively, or in addition to providing such discounts,a manufacturer, may also choose to sponsor the video strip and present avideo strip ad that recites “15% off on your next purchase at Best Buy.”To redeem the 15% discount, a user visiting the retail outlet (e.g.,Best Buy) would enter his or her mobile number into a point of salesystem, by either telling it to the cashier or entering it on a keypad,and the discount would be automatically applied.

In another embodiment, one way of monetizing the invention is to set upa points system for video strips that mimics the well-known frequentflyer miles points system. In such a system, users collect points formaking requests and will be able to redeem the points either online orat various locations through participating businesses. In oneimplementation, users may collect, what are referred to as “Gloto™points”, for redemption purposes. Gloto™ points refer specifically to apoint system described and managed at an associated website by the samename, www.gloto.com. It is also contemplated that other businesses usingthe video strip technology and service to deliver content to mobileusers may design and operate their own promotions, points systems', orcouponing systems to encourage consumption of their branded content orservices.

Demonstration Example

An example of a typical interaction between a user making an informationrequest from a personal communication device to a central host siteprocessing the response via the construction of a video strip follows.Of course, other arrangements and demonstrations are possible usingvarious exemplary components described herein.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 5-7 to further illustrate the inventionprinciples.

Prior to describing the Process 600, it is instructive to firstillustrate and describe what a user is shown in response to making arequest for weather information, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 7 a illustrates an exemplary Video Strip 700 that is returned to aUser 10 making a request for weather information in zip code 68104,i.e., “W 68104”.

As discussed above, an information request may be made in any number ofdifferent formats, some of which are described, by way of example, inTable II. Note that the fifth row of Table II describes the particularcommand syntax and format shown, by way of example, in Table I.

TABLE II Command Issued To Format 68104 weather@gloto.com Email Omaha,NE weather@gloto.com Email 68104 w@weatherbug.com Email Omaha, NEw@weatherbug.com Email W 68104 vs@gloto.com SMS message W 68104 IMusername: IM glotobot

The Video Strip 700 returned to the requester is comprised of a Pre-RollAnimation Frame 706 (optional), five content oriented Video Strip Frames702 and a Post-Roll Animation Frame 708 (optional). The video stripfurther includes a Text Crawl 704, along the bottom.

FIG. 7 b illustrates how the Video Strip 700 is viewed on a Display 710of the requestor's Personal Communication Device 720. FIG. 7 billustrates what a requester would view at a point in time coincidentwith the display of the third content oriented Video Strip Frame 702 ofFIG. 7 a, i.e., the weather for Sunday May 13, 2007 in Omaha, Nebr.

Each video strip frame is displayed to the requester for approximatelytwo (2) seconds, in accordance with a preferred embodiment. During thedisplay of a given video strip frame, approximately 24 constituentunderlying video frames are rendered. That is, from the requestor'sperspective, each video strip frame appears to the viewer as a staticimage.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown an exemplary Process 600 forresponding to an exemplary user request for “weather related”information. In accordance with the instant example, a User 10 (i.e.,information requester) makes a specific request for a five day weatherforecast for Omaha, Nebr. for the zip code 68104. The request is madevia the user's Personal Communication Device 720. The Process 600 isperformed in the context of the system illustrated in FIG. 5.

At Act 602, a User 10 makes an information request via his or herpersonal communication device 12 to the Central Host Site 24. Moreparticularly, a User 10 sends an SMS message to a predetermined shortcode (e.g., 68104) or email address (vs@gloto.com). The content of themessage is the command “W 68104”.

At Act 604, the System 100 situated at the Central Host Site 24, themessage is received by the Interpretation Module 222, which verifiesthat “W 68104” is a valid command and interprets “W 68104” as a requestfor a 5-10 day forecast for postal code 68104 (i.e., Omaha, Nebr.).

At Act 606, the System 100, situated at the Central Host Site 24,optionally generates an advertising and/or sponsorship request based onderived user information, including, but not limited to, demographics,cell phone number, geographical position and current time. Theadvertising and/or sponsorship request (i.e., Ad Request 56) is issuedfrom the Central Host Site 24 to Ad Servers 68, 70.

At Act 608, the System 100, situated at the Central Host Site 24,generates a unique query string (URL Query 60) based on the receivedrequest and passes it through to the Weather Servers 64, 66, via a URLquery string, to a predetermined URL.

At Act 610, one or more Ad Servers 68, 70 respond to the Ad Request 56with appropriately formatted advertisement and sponsorship data forinclusion in the Video Strip 400.

At Act 612, one or more Weather Servers 64, 66 responds to the URL Query60 with an XML Document 62 including raw weather forecast informationassociated with the requested postal code 68104 (i.e., Omaha, Nebr.) forinclusion in the video strip.

At Act 614, the System 100, situated at the Central Host Site 24,receives the XML Document 62, parses the contents, and formats theinformation into frames appropriate for display on a small screen mobiledevice.

At Act 616, the System 100, situated at the Central Host Site 24,receives the appropriately formatted advertisement and sponsorship datafrom the one or more Ad Servers 68, 70 and formats it for inclusion inat least one of the pre-roll 406, post-roll 408 and Text Crawl 404positions within the Video Strip 400. It may also insert theadvertisement as an interstitial frame as part of frame 402.

At Act 618, the System 100, situated at the Central Host Site 24,constructs and renders the completed Video Strip 400 in an appropriatecontinuous format, such as, for example, 3gp, Flash™, etc.

At Act 620, the System 100, situated at the Central Host Site 24,transmits a response message, including the constructed video strip (SeeFIG. 7) to the requesting user's Personal Communication Device 12 as anMMS message, instant message attachment, or email attachment.

At Act 622, the viewer may view the Video Strip 700 on a Display 710 ofhis Personal Communication Device 720 using the built-in video playbackcapabilities embedded on the mobile communication device. The User 10has the option of storing the Video Strip 700 in a memory of the mobilecommunication device for viewing at a later time. When viewing the VideoStrip 700, the viewer may stop, start, and pause the video strip. Suchfeatures are well known. It should be noted that pausing playback of aVideo Strip 700 enables the user to easily peruse the contents of eachVideo Strip Frame 702 in the transmitted Video Strip 700. Because aVideo Strip 700 is rendered as a sequence of disjoint frames ofsufficient duration, the act of pausing the video strip playback isquite natural and readily performed on the Personal Communication Device720.

A novel feature of a “video strip” is that the constituent Video StripFrames 702 are disjoint. That is, the constituent video strip frames aremore analogous to a slide show, keyed to the user's particularinformation request, than to a conventional movie format comprised of asequence of conjoint images. This is exemplified in the Video Strip 700of FIG. 7. Each Video Strip Frame 702 represents an image of textinformation that is disjoint from the preceding and subsequent framesimage. That is, each video strip frame represents the weather for aparticular day of the week.

Also, it is likely that certain information providers (image searchcompanies like Yahoo™ or Google™, and map companies like Mapquest™ orGoogle™, etc.) will have direct relationships with advertisers/sponsors.In these situations, the System 100 may not interact directly with theadvertisers (via servers 64, 66 for example), but will insteadsimultaneously receive both the URL Queries 60 and the Ad Requests 56from the third-party content providers.

While the invention has been shown and described with respect toparticular embodiments, it is not thus limited. Numerous modifications,changes and enhancements will now be apparent to the reader.

1. A computer-implemented method for responding to information requestsfrom users of personal communication devices, the method comprising: (a)a plurality of users aperiodically requesting content from a centralhost site by sending messages from personal communication devices of theusers, to the central host site, the messages including a request forcontent from the central host site, the request being generated from thepersonal communication devices via conventional manufacturer suppliedinternal software instructions stored and running on the personalcommunication devices, wherein said internal software instructions arenot downloaded from an external source, and wherein said internalinstructions are neither included nor embedded as content-clientsoftware; (b) receiving the messages at the central host site, (c)responding to the messages at said central host site by: (i) validatingthe message; (ii) parsing the validated message to identify at least acontent category and a content type; (iii) retrieving said requestedcontent according to said identified content category and type; (iv)incorporating the retrieved content in a response message, wherein saidresponse message is constructed in a slideshow presentation formatcomprised of a non-temporal sequence of primary images, each primaryimage including at least a portion of said retrieved content, (v)transmitting the response message from the central host site to thepersonal communication device of the user making the request forcontent, and wherein the sequence of primary images are transmitted fordisplay on said user's personal communication device at an image displayrate in the range of substantially one image per second to one image perthree seconds, wherein each primary disjoint image of said slideshowpresentation is transparently displayed to the user as a plurality ofsubstantially identical underlying video frames at an underlyingpre-determined frame rate.
 2. The computer-implemented method accordingto claim 1, wherein each primary image is a still image in said sequenceof images transparently displayed on said user's personal communicationdevice in a slideshow presentation format as a plurality of underlyingvideo frames, rendered at said underlying pre-determined frame rate. 3.The computer-implemented method according to claim 2, wherein thepre-determined frame rate is at least 10 frames per second for arendering format in accordance with the 3gp technical standard.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method according to claim 3, wherein thepre-determined frame rate is 12 frames per second in accordance withsaid 3gp technical standard.
 5. The computer-implemented methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the network is one of a wireless and wirednetwork.
 6. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1,wherein the act of incorporating the retrieved content in a responsemessage, further comprises: rendering the images through a multi-phaseprocess into a single continuous format.
 7. The computer-implementedmethod according to claim 6, wherein the continuous format is encodedaccording to the 3g2 technical specification.
 8. Thecomputer-implemented method according to claim 6, wherein the continuousformat is encoded according to the 3g2 technical specification.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein a requestmessage protocol for receiving said request message is selected from thegroup of text messaging protocols comprising a Short Text Messagingprotocol, an Internet Address Messaging protocol, an email messagingprotocol, and an instant messaging protocol.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein a responsemessage protocol for transmitting said response message is selected fromthe group of text messaging protocols comprising a Short Text Messagingprotocol, an Internet Address Messaging protocol, a Multi MessagingService protocol, an email protocol, and an instant messaging protocol.11. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein thepersonal communication device is one of a wired or wireless device. 12.The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein the act ofretrieving said requested content according to said identified contentcategory and type, further comprises: accessing at least one remotecontent source based on said identified content category and contenttype; and retrieving said content from the at least one remote contentsource.
 13. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1,wherein the act of retrieving said requested content, according to saididentified content category and type, further comprises: accessing atleast one local database based on said identified content category andcontent type; and retrieving said content from the at least one localdatabase.
 14. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1,wherein the act of retrieving said requested content according to saididentified content category and type, further comprises: determining atleast one of the group comprising: (a) a geographical position of saiduser, (b) a demographic of said user and (c) a time of day associatedwith making said request; determining appropriate advertising themescorresponding to said at least one of the group comprising (a)geographical position of said user, (b) said demographic of said userand (c) said time of day associated with making said request; andaccessing at least one of a remote content source and a local databaseto retrieve appropriate advertising content consistent with saiddetermined appropriate advertising themes.
 15. A non-autonomous systemfor linking data related to a set of similar digital images, the systemcomprising: at least one processor; a memory connected to the at leastone processor and storing instructions for operating the at least oneprocessor to perform the steps of: (a) receiving a message including auser request for content, the request being received over a network froma user of a personal communication device using conventionalmanufacturer supplied internal software not downloaded from an externalsource for making said request, and wherein said internal instructionsare neither included nor embedded as content-client software; (b)responding to the request message by: (i) validating the requestmessage; (ii) parsing the validated request message to identify at leasta content category and a content type; (iii) retrieving said requestedcontent according to said identified content category and type; (iv)incorporating the retrieved content in a response message, wherein saidresponse message is constructed in a slideshow presentation formatcomprised of a non-temporal sequence of primary images, each primaryimage including at least a portion of said retrieved content, and (v)transmitting the response message from a central host site of the systemto the personal communication device of the user making the request forsaid content, and wherein the sequence of primary images are transmittedfor display on said user's personal communication device at an imagedisplay rate in the range of substantially one image per second to oneimage per three seconds, wherein each primary disjoint image of saidslideshow presentation is transparently displayed to the user as aplurality of substantially identical underlying video frames at anunderlying pre-determined frame rate.
 16. The system according to claim15, wherein the sequence of images are disjoint images.
 17. The systemaccording to claim 15, wherein the images are transmitted for display onsaid user's personal communication device at an image display rate inthe range of substantially one image per second to one image per threeseconds.
 18. The system according to claim 15, wherein each image insaid sequence of images is comprised of a plurality of video frames,rendered at an underlying pre-determined frame rate.
 19. The systemaccording to claim 18, wherein the pre-determined frame rate is at least10 frames per second for a rendering format in accordance with the 3gptechnical standard.
 20. The system according to claim 15, wherein thepre-determined frame rate is 12 frames per second in accordance withsaid 3gp technical standard.
 21. The system according to claim 15,wherein the network is one of a wireless and wired network.
 22. Thesystem according to claim 15, wherein the act of incorporating theretrieved content in a response message, further comprises: renderingthe images through a multi-phase process into a single continuousformat.
 23. The system according to claim 22, wherein the continuousformat is encoded according to the 3gp technical specification.
 24. Thesystem according to claim 22, wherein the continuous format is encodedaccording to the 3g2 technical specification.
 25. The system accordingto claim 15, wherein a request message protocol for receiving saidrequest message is selected from the group of text messaging protocolscomprising a Short Text Messaging protocol, an Internet AddressMessaging protocol, an email messaging protocol, and an instantmessaging protocol.
 26. The system according to claim 15, wherein aresponse message protocol for transmitting said response message isselected from the group of text messaging protocols comprising a ShortText Messaging protocol, an Internet Address Messaging protocol, a MultiMessaging Service protocol, an email protocol, and an instant messagingprotocol.
 27. The system according to claim 15, wherein the personalcommunication device is one of a wired or wireless device.
 28. Thesystem according to claim 15, wherein the act of retrieving said contentresponsive to said request message, further comprises: accessing atleast one remote content source based on said identified contentcategory and content type; and retrieving said content from the at leastone remote content source.
 29. The system according to claim 15, whereinthe act of retrieving said content responsive to said request message,further comprises: accessing at least one local database based on saididentified content category and content type; and retrieving saidcontent from the at least one local database.
 30. The system accordingto claim 15, wherein the act of retrieving said content responsive tosaid request message, further comprises: determining at least one of thegroup comprising a geographical position of said user, a demographic ofsaid user and a time of day associated with making said request;determining appropriate advertising themes corresponding to said atleast one of the group comprising a geographical position of said user,said demographic of said user and said time of day associated withmaking said request; and accessing one of a remote content source and alocal database to retrieve appropriate advertising content consistentwith said determined appropriate advertising themes.
 31. A computerprogram product operable on a processor at a central host site includingcomputer-executable instructions for performing processing functions inaccordance with a method for responding to information requests fromusers of personal communication devices, (a) receiving a message, over acarrier network, including a user request for content, the request beingreceived over a network from a user of a personal communication deviceusing conventional internal software not downloaded from an externalsource for making said request and wherein said internal instructionsare neither included nor embedded as content-client software; (b)responding to the message at said central host site including:validating the message; parsing the message to identify a contentcategory and a content type; retrieving said content responsive to saidrequest message; incorporating the retrieved content in a responsemessage wherein said response message is constructed in a slideshowpresentation format comprised of a non-temporal sequence of primaryimages, each primary image including at least a portion of saidretrieved content, and transmitting the response message from thecentral host site to the personal communication device of the usermaking the request for said content wherein the sequence of primaryimages are transmitted for display on said user's personal communicationdevice at an image display rate in the range of substantially one imageper second to one image per three seconds, wherein each primary disjointimage of said slideshow presentation is transparently displayed to theuser as a plurality of substantially identical underlying video framesat an underlying pre-determined frame rate.
 32. A non-autonomous systemfor linking data related to a set of similar digital images, the systemcomprising: at least one communications manager connected to receiveaperiodic messages including a request for content, the request beingreceived over a network from a user of a personal communication deviceusing conventional manufacturer supplied internal software for makingsaid request, and wherein said internal software is neither included norembedded as content-client software and is not downloaded from anexternal source; the at least one communications manager being furtherconfigured to transmit a response message from a central host site tothe user making the request for content; an interpretation managerconnected to receive the message from the communications manager,validate the request message and parse the validated request message toidentify at least a content category and a content type of the message;a content manager connected to retrieve and aggregate said requestedcontent according to said identified content category and type; aninterpretation manager connected to receive the retrieved content andincorporate the retrieved content in a response message, wherein saidresponse message is constructed in a slideshow presentation formatcomprised of a non-temporal sequence of primary images, each primaryimage including at least a portion of said retrieved content, and apresentation manager connected to construct a video strip constructed insaid slideshow presentation format from the retrieved content, whereinthe sequence of primary images are transmitted for display on saiduser's personal communication device at an image display rate in therange of substantially one image per second to one image per threeseconds, wherein, each primary disjoint image of said slideshowpresentation is transparently displayed to the user as a plurality ofsubstantially identical underlying video frames at an underlyingpre-determined frame rate.
 33. The system of claim 32, wherein thepresentation manager is further configured to additionally incorporateadvertising content in said video strip.
 34. The system of claim 32,wherein the communications manager receives said request message over anetwork from a user of a personal communication device.
 35. The systemof claim 32, wherein the content manager is further configured toretrieve and aggregate targeted ads and/or sponsorships fromadvertisers.